A Godfather's Influence
by Zelono
Summary: Naruto grew up pretty much on his own, hated and ridiculed until his genin days. But maybe things would have been different had his godfather taken a little more interest in his life early on.
1. A Pivotal Day

A Godfather's Influence

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any of the characters.

Chapter : A Pivotal Day

Today was the day. The day Naruto would take his first step toward becoming Hokage. Naruto's first day at the ninja academy was today and he couldn't wait. He could finally show everyone what an awesome ninja he would be, then they would have to acknowledge him. Maybe he could even make some friends.

"Hello Naruto. Are you ready for your first day?" An old man wearing white and red robes asked. "You bet Jiji, I'm gonna be the greatest ninja ever! Then you'll have to give me that hat," a young boy with blonde hair and whisker-marks on his cheeks replied. "Come on Jiji or we'll be late!" The Third Hokage, known to Naruto as Jiji, chuckled. "I've been waiting for you to get ready. If you have everything, we can go."

* * *

As they got close to the academy, the Third noticed that Naruto seemed even more jumpy than usual. "Is something the matter Naruto?" he inquired. "What if none of the other kids like me?"

The Thirds expression hardened. _Of course_, he thought. "Why wouldn't they like you?" Naruto put his head down, covering his eyes with his bangs. "Nobody likes me. They all think I'm a demon. What did I ever do to them, Jiji?" The Third put his hand on Naruto's shoulder. "You didn't do anything Naruto. They're all just caught up in their preconceptions. I'm sure you'll meet people who can see past that." After that, the two walked in silence until they came up to a large building. "We're here Naruto. Try to enjoy your first day. Now I have to get back to my office. That paperwork isn't gonna do itself, unfortunately. Goodbye." With that, the Third vanished.

While walking towards his classroom, Naruto noticed some of the other children glaring at him. But why? He couldn't understand why everyone hated him so much. Not paying much attention, he didn't notice someone walking directly towards him until they had barreled over him. "Watch where you're going, loser." The entire hall broke into laughter. The academy sucks already.

* * *

The rest of the school day did not go much better. Naruto was ignored, insulted, or in Sakura's case, punched whenever he tried to introduce himself to someone. Even the teachers hated him. The only exception seemed to be Iruka-sensei, and that's because he only seemed to _strongly dislike_ Naruto. Sadly enough, Naruto was willing to count that as a victory. Even so, for Naruto the school day could not end soon enough.

When class was let out, Naruto tried to run out of the classroom, but someone tripped him and he fell flat on his face. Naruto figured he should have been angry, but it was such a fitting end to his school day that he just decided to lay there until the rest of the class was gone and hope no one kicked him on their way out. "Are you ok?" Naruto heard someone ask. The voice was close to him, so he figured that they could be talking to him, but no one other than Jiji was ever concerned about his wellbeing so he decided that he was imagining things. Then he felt someone poking him. "You're not dead, are you?" When Naruto raised his head, he saw a boy his age with a lazy expression on his face and what appeared to be a black pineapple on his head.

Realizing that someone was actually willing to talk to him, Naruto hopped to his feet and dusted himself off. "No, I'm fine. Hi, my name's Naruto!" The pineapple-haired boy continued to stare at Naruto with his bored expression. After a few moments of thinking, he finally replied. "Well you're pretty loud and that's troublesome, but you don't look like a bad guy, so hey Naruto. My name's Shikamaru."

Naruto was a bit surprised. He rarely made it past his name before he was told to jump off a cliff, and on the rare occasion that he wasn't rejected, the kid's parents would pull them away. Assuming this would be the case, Naruto was determined to talk to Shikamaru as much as he could before Shikamaru's parents forbid him from ever talking to 'The Demon' ever again.

"Hi Shikamaru. I'm gonna be the greatest ninja ever, then I'm gonna be the greatest Kage ever!" _I wonder if he's always this loud _Shikamaru thought. "That sounds troublesome. I'm gonna be the ninja that does the least amount of work ever. Yeah, that sounds like a good goal for me." Naruto couldn't tell if that was a joke, but the lazy expression on the pineapple-haired boys face suggested that it was not.

"Man that sounds so boring! Ninjas have to be awesome. I wanna slay dragons and rescue princesses and all that good stuff."

The two started walking outside with the blonde-haired boy practically shouting about how awesome it would be to be a ninja and the lazy boy being too lazy to talk about how troublesome being a ninja was going to be. Once they got outside, Shikamaru saw that his dad was already waiting for him. "Hey Dad. School was tiring. I think you're gonna have to carry me home." Shikamaru's dad, Shikaku, raised an eyebrow at his son, then his face relaxed into the signature Nara look.

"Yeah sure, why not?" Shikamaru was a bit surprised by the response. "Wait really?" he asked.

"Yeah. That way we'll get home faster and I can go back to bed." Naruto had just met Shikaku, but for some reason this reply did not surprise him. _I wonder if the whole family is like that_. It was then that Shikaku noticed Naruto standing there. "Hey Naruto. I didn't notice you at first without you screaming about becoming Hokage. Are you and Shikamaru friends?" It seemed like a simple question, but Naruto didn't know how to respond. Was it a trick question? Would Shikamaru's dad forbid them from being friends if Naruto said yes? Would Shikamaru be offended if Naruto said no? Luckily for him, Shikamaru answered for him. "Yeah, we're friends."

"That's nice. See you around Naruto. We have to go now. My bed isn't gonna sleep in itself." With that, Shikaku picked up his son and vanished in a shunshin.

Naruto was quite shocked. He didn't know what kind of reaction he was expecting, but he was expecting a reaction. _It probably would have taken too much effort,_ Naruto mused before beginning his walk home, alone. The Third was too busy to walk him home. _He's probably preventing a war or assembling a team to go rescue a princess, _Naruto thought. If the young boy knew the truth, he would probably renounce his dream of becoming Hokage. All the respect in the world wasn't worth doing that much paperwork.

* * *

As he was walking, Naruto decided that today had been a good day. The number of people not named Teuchi, Ayame, or Third Hokage who were willing to talk to him was at an all-time high. That number was only two, but it shattered the previous record of zero. After this realization, the blonde decided that he wouldn't let anyone ruin this day, so he jumped onto a nearby rooftop. Well he tried to anyway. He really jumped into a wall. After dusting himself off, Naruto decided he would walk home instead.

Naruto arrived at his apartment to an unusual site. It wasn't that someone had broken in or left graffiti on his door (that had happened three times already), but instead that there was a letter attached to the door. The boy briefly wondered if it had been delivered to the wrong address, but written across the front was his name, Naruto Uzumaki. _Should I open it, _he wondered. _It could be a trick from one of the villagers._ In the end his curiosity won out, and Naruto cautiously opened the envelope.

_Dear Naruto,_

_ You don't know me, but I know you. Man that sounds creepy. Creepiness aside, I'm glad to finally be able to talk to you. My name's Jiraiya and I want to be your friend. Unfortunately I have a lot of work to do, but I hope that I will be able to meet you in person eventually. I'm very busy so I'm gonna have to cut this short. If you want to respond, ask old man Hokage and he'll find a way to get your message to me. I'll be in touch._

_Your Friend,_

_The Gallant Jiraiya_

_Aka The Great Toad Sage_

_Aka the envy of men everywhere_

_Aka the dream of women everywhere_

_Aka the author of the world renowned Icha Icha_

_That guy sure has a lot of nicknames _was Naruto's first thought after reading the letter. His second was that this was probably a joke. _Then again, he did tell me to go ask Jiji. Guess I might as well._

And with that, Naruto headed off to go talk to the Hokage.

* * *

Well, That was chapter one. I would love to know what you think, so feel free to review. I'd prefer constructive criticism, but if you just think it sucks, feel free to say so.


	2. The Second Letter

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any Naruto characters.

* * *

Chapter 2: The Second Letter

A month had already passed and Naruto still had not heard back from Jiraiya. It was a month of barely paying attention in school, trying to convince Shikamaru to do something other than watch clouds, and trying to talk to Sakura. Those last two were met with a similar amount of success (zero), but Naruto wasn't ready to give up yet.

"Good morning Sakura-chan." Shikamaru had to admit he was impressed. Even after twenty-three punches, Naruto was as persistent as ever. Of course, he was equally disappointed by Naruto's stupidity (the punches to the head may have had something to do with this), but he was still impressed. "Ugh, go away Naruto, you're annoying!" was Sakura's predictable reply. "But Sakura-chan" Naruto was cut off by a lazy sounding voice. "So are you." Sakura was surprised, but that shock quickly turned to anger. "Who said that?" she demanded. "I did," was Shikamaru's reply. "Sure Naruto's annoying, but so are you. He's willing to talk to you anyway, you should do the same."

"Hahahahaha! Sakura, he just compared you to Naruto. Hahaha!"

"Shut up Ino! He doesn't know what he's talking about." This would be the first argument between the two that Shikamaru would eventually dub 'The Banshee Queens' and, ironically, Shikamaru would never realize that it was partly his fault. _Great, _the lazy boy thought. _I stop her from yelling at Naruto and she finds someone even louder to yell at. Why couldn't I stay home today?_ Shikamaru's inner rant, and Sakura and Ino's yelling match were fortunately cut short by the arrival of their teacher, Iruka.

"Ok class, everyone quiet down. Today we're gonna do something special. The training posts are set up outside, so everyone line up and we'll head out." As the class lined up to go outside, Iruka heard the buzz of chatter as everyone speculated on what the special activity was. The guesses ranged from fighting each other (Kiba) to ninja hide-and-seek (Naruto) to a sleeping contest (Shikamaru). _Ninja tag isn't a bad idea actually, _Iruka mused. _If the class behaves I may have to add a few games into the curriculum._

* * *

As the class reached the training field, Iruka stood in front of the training posts while the class stopped short to observe him. "Ok class, today we are going to do some target practice. The necessary weapons are next to Mizuki," he said, pointing to a white haired chunin sitting next to a crate filled with kunai. "When I call your name, go to Mizuki to retrieve eight kunai. You will then hold them between your fingers like this." The academy instructor demonstrated, holding a kunai between each finger and one between his thumb and index finger. "You will then take aim at the training post and throw them, like so." This sentence was punctuated by the chunin throwing all eight kunai at the post, embedding all eight into the wood.

"You'll notice that these kunai blunted, but they can still penetrate if thrown hard enough, as I just demonstrated. Therefore, I must insist that no one throws any of them at another student, or they will not be allowed to do this again. Is that understood?" After the general murmur of agreement from the students, Iruka turned his attention to the class roster. "Ok, first up, Aburame Shino."

* * *

Target practice went better than Iruka had expected it to. Most of the students seemed to be throwing in the general direction of the post, but a few seemed to know what they were doing. Shino managed to hit with four of his kunai, while Sasuke Uchiha had managed to hit with six of them. He was worried for a few students, such as Hinata Hyuuga, who hadn't managed to hit with even one, however. _Their ninja careers are just starting though, I'm sure they'll improve over time. _As he dismissed class for the day, Iruka believed that he was teaching a special group of future ninjas.

* * *

Naruto Uzumaki was feeling much less optimistic. "Aw man. I can't believe I only hit three of them," He complained as he began to leave with his lazy friend. "That's not so bad," Shikamaru assured him. "I only managed to hit with one." "Yeah but you only threw one before deciding that it was too much work and going off to watch clouds." The lazy child put his tilted his head upwards to look at the sky. "Yeah. Today was an alright day after all. I still should have stayed home though." Naruto suppressed the urge to sigh. "Why are you so lazy?" "Why are you so hyper?"

"I asked you first."

"I asked you second."

"Just answer the question."

"That's too much work."

"Shikamaru!"

"Naruto."

The two continued to bicker until they reached Shikamaru's house. "Did you want to come in?" Shikamaru asked his hyper friend.

"No thanks," Naruto replied. "I gotta go see the old man about something important."

"You've been saying that for a week."

"Well today's the day that something gets here. I can feel it, so see ya later." With that, Naruto began walking to the Hokage's office, saying to himself "today's the day" the entire way there. _Maybe I should make some less strange friends, _Shikamaru thought to himself as he headed inside. _Nah, that sounds like way too much work._

* * *

To Naruto's surprise, today really was the day. When he got to the Hokage's office, the secretary told him that the Third was busy, but that a letter had arrived for him.

"Really?" Naruto asked as he began bouncing up and down. "Who's it from? Is it from Jiraiya? What does it say?" The woman smiled at him kindly and held out an envelope. "Don't you want to read it yourself Naruto?"

"Oh yeah. Thanks." The blonde took the letter from her with a shaky hand. After a month of waiting, he would finally hear from his new friend. The boy briefly wondered if he would have to wait a month every time for a response, but he quickly abandoned this train of thought and opened the letter.

* * *

_Hello again Naruto. It's been a while but the great Toad Sage has finally decided to grace you with his words of wisdom once more. I got your letter from the old man by the way. You sure do love ramen. You know that stuff isn't good for you right? If that's all you eat you'll never grow up to be as awesome as me._

_How's school life coming along? The old man told me the academy is a lot different from when I was young (insert dinosaur joke here). He told me that you learn a lot of the village history and theory behind jutsu now. We actually graduated by the time we were six, it seems kinda strange that you just started. You shoulda seen me back then kid, I was amazing. Of course I was the best member of my team. I could do all kinds of cool jutsu's and… I'm rambling, but my point is you're not too young to start learning practical ninja skills. One of the first things I learned out of the academy was tree walking, and since I could do it at your age, I figured you might like to as well. I sent a scroll to the old man for you; consider it a late birthday present. Just ask him and he'll explain to you how it works._

_There's a lot that I want to talk to you about Naruto, but these letters aren't really an efficient way of communicating. I'm working on something for that but I still need a little more time. Once I finish it, I'll deliver it to you personally, so we can meet face to face. Sound good?_

_Your friend,_

_The Gallant Jiraiya_

* * *

The secretary was watching Naruto, waiting for him to try to barge into the Hokage's office to claim his scroll. Unfortunately, knowing something's about to happen and being able to stop it are two different things. This was made apparent to her when the small child ducked under her lunge and burst through the Hokage's door yelling "Jiji, gimme my scroll!"

_I really should be used to it by now._ The woman mused as she walked into the office behind Naruto. _Oh well, might as well go along with it._ "Hokage-sama, you have a visitor," the woman said with a smirk on her face.

"I see that," the Third replied while looking up from his paperwork. "Thanks for the heads up." The village leader then reached into his desk and pulled out a scroll. "I was going to give this to you later, but I guess now's as good a time as any. Have you already learned about chakra at the academy?" The small blonde scratched his head, trying to remember what he had heard on the topic.

"Iruka-sensei said something about it, but I wasn't really paying attention."

The Third sighed. "Then listen up while I explain it again. You see Naruto, ninjas use chakra in a variety of ways." And the aged man continued his lecture that he was sure the small blonde wasn't listening to.

* * *

**Well there's the second chapter. The story is moving along pretty slowly but I'll try to move it along quicker. The next chapter includes Naruto's first meeting with Jiraiya and his attempts at learning to tree walk. Anyway, let me know what you think.**


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